


Shattered Illusion

by LoneWolf23



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abuse, Anxiety Disorder, Childhood Trauma, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Graphic Violence, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Build, Torture, can't think of anything else, manic behavior, rating will change in some chapters, will post warnings in certain chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2020-09-28 09:21:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20423603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoneWolf23/pseuds/LoneWolf23
Summary: Gabriel, a freshman in college isn't having the best time. He ends up meeting Matt who seems cold and unwelcoming. They become friends. Each of them has their own past trauma to deal with and it becomes more present when they start dating. Will they be able to stay together, because of their past and dealing with people looking down on them for being in a homosexual relationship?





	1. Chapter One: First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rewrite of a rewrite. I like this one much better. I hope you enjoy and if you have any questions or find any spelling/ grammar issues let me know down in the comments. Thanks for taking the time to read my original story. I will post pics of the characters here and there.

Chapter 1: First Meeting

“Hi, Gabby. How was your first semester?” My best female friend Talula asked me.

I waved to my High school friends over messenger video. We haven’t chatted like this since the beginning of the first semester. They all went to the same out of State College. The Community College here didn’t have the best classes for their field of study.

Talula’s studying to be a Veterinarian. She really loves animals and wants to help as many as she possibly could. She is very sweet, motherly type. She is like my second sister. We got along just like normal siblings too.

Her boyfriend and my best friend, Max is studying Biology. He has always been into what makes mammals mammals, insects insects and more. He is very smart and very lazy when it comes to schoolwork. He always put it off till the last minute. Max is also the type of person who would knock someone’s teeth in if anyone messed with his loved ones.

Then there was Jeremy. He’s studying Zoology. He loved animals as much as Talula and wanted to learn more to help the wild animals. Jeremy is a major perfectionist and avid gamer. He worked his ass off doing odd jobs so he could buy every gaming system and some games to go along with them.

I missed them so much. We’d always hung out but now I hardly hear from them. I may chat with them on Facebook once or twice a month. I know that they are super busy with their studies. I’m just haven’t been good with good-byes.

“Ugh! I have a teacher from hell.” I gave them a defeated look.

“Why you say that dude?” Max asked.

“He’s always calling me out because of the fucking bus. It’s never on time. So, for the past two weeks, I’ve been having to run ten miles to make it on time. When I get there, I’m so tired and out of breath that I end up falling asleep.”

“Sorry Honey,” Talula said with a frown. “Perhaps it’s time to stop taking the bus and start walking.”

I’ve thought about that and should have done it sooner. I went through the first semester running like a mad man. Luckily the other teachers understood my family’s situation. Only one who didn’t was Mr. Hiesler.

“I’ll most likely do that.”

“Thats good. Hey, man, we got to go. It’s almost eight-forty, class starts in five minutes.”

Eight-Forty! My class starts in twenty minutes. The fucking bus didn’t show yet again. I put my phone up in my back pocket with-out saying good-bye. I took off down the road. I had to book it if I was going to get there on time.

Ten miles may not seem that far but walking or running it is. I’ve tried many times to catch the bus. It’s either an hour late or early. I’ve made complaints, all they did was tell me to take another line but the thing was no other bus come down this way. If I had a car, I would drive but we only have one car and my mom needs it.

The only good things about this is, it keeps me in shape since I don’t do much parkour anymore. The closest thing that I do that’s psychical activity, outside of running, is learning different popular dances. Some of the dances I know are the ending dirty dancing dance, Elect, Kokashitantan, Love me if you can, some of Garnidlia’s dances, Chained up and a few others.

I’ve taught both my Mom and sister some of the dances. My sister, Ella, is a little slow on the timing and my Mom has two left feet. That’s fine as long as we have fun.

Finally, the school came in to view. All I had to do now was cross the street. With-out looking, stupid I know, I crossed and almost got hit by a car. The driver honked at me but I just ignored them.

Entering the school, I took the flight of stairs to my right at the entrance. I’m happy that my class was right near the stairs. I entered the classroom, plopping down in my seat. A panting mess.

I somehow made it with-in seconds. I collapsed onto the table. I was hot and tired, it also felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. My muscles burned and same goes with my lungs. I closed my eyes for a moment.

I heard the Devil himself walk in at that moment. I couldn’t care less about him or the whispers that followed. The last thing I remember before falling into slumber was the chair next to me moving.

The next thing I knew, I was hitting the floor. I looked up to see a very pissed off Mr. Hiesler. Here we go again.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to sleep in my class.” He said voice stern.

I got to my feet. “How many times do I have to tell you, I can’t help it when I have to run to school because of the fucking bus never showing up on time.”

“That's my problem how?” Mr. Hiesler looked down at me from under his glasses. “Drive or find another bus.”

“I’ve told you I can’t drive and no other buses come near my home. Why can’t you understand that?” I gritted my teeth in anger.

“Again, not my problem no do I care. I won’t have you sleeping in my class. Now leave!”

“What the fuck ever!” I snatched up my bag then left the room. I slammed the door behind me. I sat down next to the door, pulling out my phone. Unlocking it, I called my mom.

After a few rings, she picked up.

“Gabriel? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” She sounded worried.

“Got kicked out again. The fucking bus didn’t show.”

“I’m sorry sweetie.”

I paused for a moment before speaking because I knew what her answer would be. “Could I just quit school for a year so I can get a job and save up for a car?”

“No. You don’t want to end up like me. If you take a year off it will turn into two and so on. You just need to tuff it out. I know it’s hard now but it will get better.”

See, I knew it. I hate that she doesn’t let me help out. Ella does the cooking and cleaning even though she is only eight. If I try to help her, she just snaps at me. I want to help out, I feel useless doing nothing but school work.

“Sorry I have to go now.”

“Bye.”

I hung up, putting the phone back in my pocket. My head fell back against the wall as a sigh left me. It’s not a good feeling useless. Why couldn’t she see that?

I wanted to do something? I do get where she is coming from. Mom had to work two jobs to support us and pay bills. One job was at SAL Corp, as a receptionist during the week and a waitress on the weekends at a local dinner. Even though I’m in school I could still help with the household chores and get a part-time job.

I’ll figure something out, perhaps a summer job. I could work as many hours as I possibly can so I’ll have nice checks. By the end of the summer, I can get a crappy car that will get me to and from school. The only problem with that is Ella. She can’t be left alone. I’ll have to talk to Mom about it closer to the end of the school year.

Class ended before I knew it. I got to my feet, ready to go to my next class when a notebook appeared in front of me. My eye slowly trailed up the owner’s arm to meet Golden-orange eyes. The eyes seem so cold, unwelcoming. His whole demeanor felt that was as well. He defiantly didn’t seem like the friendly type.

His eyes and body posture wasn’t the only thing giving off that vibe. He had multiple ear piercings in each ear. What I think is a brow piercing, couldn’t really tell because his black hair partly covered the left side of his upper face.

“Here. The notes.” His voice was so deep. Deep like Jeremy Iron’s or Garrett Hedlund’s. His voice was devoid of emotion.

There again doesn’t seem friendly. Yet he is lending me his notes. He couldn’t be all that bad. Maybe he was like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Looks all mean on the outside but a teddy bear on the inside.

I hesitantly took the book from him. “Th-thanks.” I stuttered. Compared to his voice, mine was feminine like Adam Levine.

Without saying a word, the guy walked away. I just stood there for a moment confused by the whole thing. I regained my composure for my next class.

/

Once school ended for the day I went home. I unlocked the door to be greeted by the smell of food cooking. Odd. Mom’s car wasn’t in the driveway. Just as I was about to call out, Ella came running out from the kitchen. She knew not to do that when no one was home.

Without thinking I started to yell at her. “What the hell were you thinking?! Do you know how dangerous it is? What if something were to happened to you?”

“I’m sorry!” Ella shouted over me. I looked down at her to see tears in her eyes. “I just wanted to have dinner ready for you when you got home because I know you had a bad day yesterday. I just wanted you to be happy. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

My heart tightened. I got down on one knee taking her in my arms. “I’m sorry Ella. I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. I was just so worried about what could have happened if I wasn’t here. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I love you so much.”

“Really?” She pulled away from me some. Our matching burgundy eyes meeting.

I gave her a smile. “Yes. I’m so happy that you thought about me but can you promise me something?” She gave me a nod. “Do you promise not to cook again with-out someone here? It doesn’t have to be mom or myself. It can be Ms. Lane next door. She loves when you hang out with her.”

“I promise.”

“Good.”

We smiled at one another. Tears were no longer in her eyes. I gave her light brown hair a pat then took her hand in mine going into the kitchen. She let me help her finish cooking dinner.


	2. Chapter Two: Pain

Chapter Two: Pain

Damn it! Shit, fuck! My alarm didn’t go off this morning so now I have to run to school yet again. So much for a brisk walk this morning. Looks like I will have to set multiple alarms next time. It's just my fucking luck that this would happen again when I have Mr.  Hiesler . Ugh.

By some grace of God, I made it to school with eight minutes to spare. Still not sure how I can run this far and still have some time left over. It should take me an hour or so by running.

Walking fast once I entered the school, I didn’t see a bag on the floor. I tripped over it. Holding out my left hand to prevent me from falling on my face. After falling I think I should have just hit my face. I landed wrong on my wrist, hurting it pretty bad. I held it to my chest while letting out a hiss. Just great.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry Gabriel. Are you okay?”

I knew and loathed that voice. This girl was a close friend to my ex-girlfriend. I couldn’t stand anyone who was  associated with that  woman.

“I shouldn’t  have had my bag laying there.” She extended out her hand to me. “Let me take you to the Nurse.”

I ignored her getting to my feet and heading to the Nurse. Unfortunately for me, she followed closely behind me. I wanted to say something to her so badly but at the same time, I didn’t want to start anything. Nothing would come of it now that’s it’s been three years. Though if she says anything to  me I will tell her what has been on my mind then.

“Gabriel? I’m really sorry about what happened back then. I now know you weren’t in the wrong and never have been.” Sadness filled her voice. I don’t really believe it. “She had everyone fooled.”

“Regardless if you knew or not, you shouldn’t treat people like that. It’s stupid and very childish.” I spoke without looking at her. Then entered the  Nurse’s office.

People like her never really change. They will string you along, gaining your trust then end up stabbing you in the back when you least expect it. It happened back at school a few times with her. I thought she was my friend but she as well as a few others believed what my ex said and bullied me.

I looked around the room looking for the Nurse. It must my lucky fucking day. The Nurse that was here today was the one I couldn’t stand mainly for her voice. She was a very beautiful lady with  a great personality but her nails were like nails on a chalkboard.

Nurse Mimi got up from her desk making her way over to me. “How may I help you?”

I inwardly cringed at her voice. It reminded me of Betty Boop. “I fell hurting my wrist.” 

She carefully took my left hand in  her’s , looking over my wrist. She’d lightly bend it at different angles, which made me let out another hiss.

“There no bruising or any major swelling which is good. Looks like it’s a sprain.” She let go of my hand turning to the shelf behind her, grabbing something I couldn’t see. “I’ll wrap it up for you. Try not to move it around or use it a lot. When you get the chance, I want you to ice it. For now, I can give you some Ibuprofen for the pain.”

Nurse Mimi gently wrapped some gauge around my hand and wrist. She didn’t make it too or too loose. It was tight enough to stay on but gave me some room to move my hand some. When she was done, she handed me four two hundred mg pills and a bottle of water. I took a swig of the water then popped all four pills in my mouth. It took me a few seconds to get the pills down. It's always like that when I take pills.

“Thanks. Now the fun part is going to class.” I let out a loud sigh. I knew what that man would say and do.

“Who’s your teachers?”

“Sata- Mr. Hiesler.”

Mimi giggled at that. “Oh yes. He can be a major pain in the ass.” She patted my shoulder. “I’ll go with you. He'll listen to me when I explain what happened.” She gave me a wink.

Together we walked to my class in silence. The whole way there I couldn’t help but think of what kind of relationship those two had. No matter which way I thought about it, it made me want to be sick.

I did wonder if Mr.  Hiesler was a nice man deep, deep down. He was only hard on his students to make them better people. Some teachers were like that and they are the best teachers around.

At the class, Mimi knocked on the door. Within seconds Mr.  Hiesler was at the door. He looked really pissed when he saw  me. Not surprising. Though when he saw Mimi his eyes lit up. I so want to throw up now.

They started to talk. Mimi motioned for me to go in. I gladly went in so I wouldn’t have to hear them any longer. I took my seat, placing my bag on the table then I took out the borrowed notebook. I slid it over towards the guy next to me.

“Thanks for letting me borrow  th -” I was stopped mid-sentence because he took my bad hand in his.

I tried to pull my hand away but he had a firm yet gentle hold on me. My face heated up from embarrassment. I wasn’t use to people touching me in any form. I looked around the room to see if anyone was looking but they all had their eyes on the door.

My gaze fell back to the man beside me. He started to massage my wrist. Coldness was still there but not as much as yesterday. The massage felt good and helped with the pain some. He is such a nice guy for leaning me the notes and this. If he was this nice then why look so cold and unwelcoming? I may never know.

/

When school was over, I went home. Throughout the day the pain in my wrist felt better. The only time it was painful was when I put too much pressure on it. I entered the house finding Ella at the dining table doing her homework. I starting to do mine but I felt like I was cooped up and wanted to be outside. Turning towards my sister I spoke.

“Hey, how would you like to go to the park for a while?”

Ella’s face lit up. “Yes! Yes please!”

We left the house and made the half-hour walk there. Ella went right to the swings. I took a seat at one of the picnic table benches, watching her.  Its great to see her act like a child. It was good for her to do this often. As time passed by my mind started to wonder.

What was up with that guy? He is such an odd one. I never met anyone who is so touchy with someone they just met. Part of me wants to get to know him but the other part says just to ignore him. You won’t see him again. Though it would be great to make another friend to hang out and talk with. I don’t know.

Maybe when I see him again, I’ll try talking with him. If he doesn’t want to talk then I'll have my answer. I’m not the type to force someone to talk or be with me if they don’t want it. A sigh left me as I placed my chin in the palm of my hand.

“Gabby, Gabby?” I looked over to my sister with a raised an eyebrow. “Could you teach me how to do flips and cartwheels?”

I was taken back by this. I tried to get her into it when she was six but flat out refused, even going as far as calling it stupid. Curious how she wants to now.

“You sure? Because you didn’t want to three years ago.”

“That was then this is now.” She whined.

I shook my head getting standing up. “Alright, follow me.”

We walked over to an empty stop in the park so we won’t hit anything. I showed her an example of a one-handed back spring, being careful of my wrist.

“Come here.” She walked over to me. I turned her so she wasn’t facing me. “Okay, I want you to lean back as far as you can placing your hands on the ground. Then I want you to kick your feet up and I will help you flip over. We’ll keep doing that until you feel comfortable doing it. I will slowly stop helping you until you can do it on your own.”

She gave a nod. I placed my right arm behind her back to support her. At first, she got scared leaning too far back. It took her a few minutes until she got  used to it. When she was fully ready, she leaned back all the way kicking her feet over her head. She fell over when her feet made contact with the ground.

We did that a few times, getting much better than the first time. Over time I slowly stopped helping her. She didn’t realize I had stopped helping her. When she did, she was so happy she was doing it all on her own.

“Hey Gabby, can you show me some of your parkour?” Ella had the biggest smile on her slightly reddened face.

I didn’t give her a verbal reply. I ran towards the half bouncy balls running over then full speed. At the last one, I did a front flip off of it. I headed to the little catwalk thing. The plan was to jump over it but the tip of my shoe caught the causing me to fall.

I held out my hands to brace my fall and go into a tuck. That didn’t work. All my weight went down hard on my left wrist making it give out. I felt a crunch followed by a burning, stabbing pain shot up from my wrist and up my arm. A scream left me.

I cradled my arm to my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to keep the tears in. I’m such an idiot. I shouldn’t have tempted that jump. I should have told her I would show her once my wrist healed so it wouldn’t hurt this bad.

“Gabby! Gabby, are y-you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital? We have to go to the hospital.” Ella was talking a mile a minute. She does that when she is scared.

“N-no hospital,” I spoke through gritted teeth. “We can’t afford the bill.”

“We have to do something, you’re hurt.” Ella got to her knees with tears in her eyes. She was right, I needed medical attention because I may have broken my wrist. We just won’t be able to pay for the bill. “We’re going to the hospital. I have to find something or someone. If I don’t you...” She trailed off as she walked away from me.

I hate making her worried like this. I should have put on a front until mom got off work, then when Ella went to  bed we can go to the hospital. Then, of course, that would mean mom would be worried about me for waiting so long. What a great fucking day?

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I didn’t notice Ella was back or that she had someone with her till I was picked up bridle style. The first thing I noticed was it was a familiar grey dress shirt. No way, it couldn’t be him. I looked up to see Golden-orange eyes. What the hell is he doing  here? How did Ella even flag him down? Why is he always next to me when things happened to me?

“Gabby, he’s going to take us to the hospital,” Ella explained.

I looked back up to the  Ravenett . “A-are you sure that’s alright? You don’t have too.”

“It’s fine. Let's go.”

/

We arrived at the Hospital. I’m really surprised we didn’t get pulled over for how we were riding on the motorcycle. Three people aren’t allowed on a bike unless you had the sidecar. What we did was dangerous. Ella sat in front of the guy from class and I behind him. We aren’t going to be doing that again. I don’t want him to get a ticket because of us.

I checked myself in, filling out the forms I needed too, then took a seat next to my sister. Around my wrist was really swollen and had dark bruising. I held it close to me, trying hard not to cry. Especially my classmate.

From the corner of my eye I saw my sister eyeing him. I thought that was odd considering she was the one who asked for his help in the first place. What I found even odder was that he was still with us. He didn’t need too. Perhaps he wanted to make sure that everything was okay. Who the hell knows, not in the mood to ask.

Ella stood up, standing in front of the other male. Her hands on her hips. That wasn’t good. She was going to interrogate  him. Sometimes she likes to act like my mom when she does this. Oh joy, what fun.

“I know I asked you for help but who are you and why did you help us?”

He cocked his head to the side. It was hard to get a good read on his emotions. He spoke in a deep monotoned voice. “I’m Matt Reece. I’m in one of your brother’s classes.”

“Why did you help us?” She asked once more.

I think it’s time that I stopped her. If I  didn’t she would just keep going on and on. No one wants to hear that and I wasn’t going to subject this guy, Matt that either.

“Ella, that’s enough. Please just leave him alone and thank him for helping.”

“It’s fine.” I looked over to him. He was looking at me then looked up at my sister. “To be honest, I wasn’t going too until I saw who it was. I knew he had hurt himself this morning and seeing him in that much pain I knew I had to help in any way I can.”

Ella thought over his answer. I was surprised by it and strangely touched by it too. This is the second time he helped me. More and more he seemed like such a good guy in my eyes. I will have to find a way to pay him back for this, all of this. I’ll try talking to him some to find out the best way to do that.

A nurse called me to the back. I was going to bring Ella with me but Matt said he would watch her and answer any of her questions. I was hesitant at first leaving her with someone I hardly knew. When Ella gave me  puppy eyes, I gave in.

The Nurse took be back to where they took X-Rays. With each shot, they got they had me turn and bend my wrist every which way. That hurt a lot. I just gritted my teeth to bear with it. After the X-Rays I was taken to a room to wait for the Doctor. The Nurse gave me an ice pack to put on my arm to help with the swollen.

Ten or so minutes later the doctor walked in the room, reviewing the X-Rays on the computer. He told me I had a small fracture just above my wrist. I was happy I didn’t fully break it though it will take time to heal just the same. I had to wear a brace to restrict movement.

Before dismissing me, the Doctor gave me a prescription for the pain and told me to move my wrist around very little from time to time. I would have to get the medicine tomorrow; it will be too late to get it by the time mom gets home. I headed back to the waiting room with the brace the doctor gave me. I found Matt and Ella playing Red Hands. From the looks of it, Matt was letting my sister slap his hands and missing  her’s on purpose. He seemed to be good with kids. Ella doesn’t just play or talk to just anyone. This brought a smile to my face.

“I’m back,” I announced. I felt bad stopping their fun but I was done with this place and just wanted to go home.

Ella ran up to me when she heard me. She gave me a big hug burring her face in my stomach. “What took so long? I was getting worried, Matty said we should play a game while we waited.”

I cocked a brow at the nickname she gave him. A sign that she  liked him . Matt didn’t seem to care about the nickname.

“I had to get an X-Ray then wait on the Doctor,” I explained.

“What did they say?” Matt asked.

I held up my hand, showing the brace. “A small fracture. I have to wear this for a while and of course, take it easy.”

/

When we arrived at home mom still wasn’t home yet. I wanted to take the bus but Ella wanted to ride on the bike again. I told her it wasn’t a good idea but she just pleaded and gave me those damn puppy eyes again. The whole way home was a blur. I just remember getting back on the bike and telling him how to get to my place then at being home. My sister calling out my nickname made me notice I was home.

“Gabby?” Matt question as I got off the bike.

“If she likes you then she called you by the nickname. Hell, I rarely call her by her  givin name.”

“What’s her real name?”

“Gabriella. My mom loved both male and female version of the name so much that’s what she named us.” Mom told me once that if I was born a girl Gabriella would have been my name. So, when Ella came along, she had both Gabriel and Gabriella.

A lot of people thought what was stupid of my mom to do since we basically have the same name. Mom didn’t care nor did we. Mom calls me by my full name and my sister we just call her Ella. Now if she gets in trouble or trying to calm her down we will call her by her full name.

“Hey...oh.” I scratched my check from nervousness. I wasn’t very good at thanking someone. “Th-thanks for helping me. You didn’t have too. I don’t know how but I will pay you for taking care of the hospital bill.”

Matt shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.” I gave him a look that said I wasn’t okay with that. “Okay. If you want to pay me back then buy and have lunch with me tomorrow. That will be good enough.”


	3. Chapter Three; New Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating will be slow due to work, sorry for the long pause between posts

Chapter Three: New Ride

Later that night my mom went off on me about doing dangerous stunts and I was lucky that I didn’t break my neck. When my mom started to yell, she becomes totally a different person. I don’t mind it; she only wants is to be safe and have a good life. After she was done yelling at me, she gave me a hug then a kiss asking me if I could be more careful while doing acrobatics. I told her I would.

The next morning, I managed to get up earlier than yesterday. I made some bacon and an egg with a glass of milk. It was great to be able to eat something for the long track to school.

Once my food was done, I finished off my egg and a slice of bacon. I drank my milk. The night before I did research on what to do to help heal bones faster. Eating and drinking plenty of protein and calcium help. Plus, it’s not bad to make the rest of my bones stronger.

I got dressed in my favorite band tee (Metalica), skinny black jeans, my converses and completing it with my favorite thick zip up panda hoodie. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder. I took my last piece of bacon and going out the door. Once outside I was met with a familiar sight. Matt sitting on his bike. Being in a mild state of shock, I dropped my bacon.

Matt just sat there with a blank look while he waved at me. I noticed the tiniest smile and it looked forced. Almost like he didn’t know how to smile naturally. I shook off my surprise as I walked up to him after locking my door.

“What are you doing here?” I asked a couple of feet from him.

“I thought you could use a reliable ride to school.” He shrugged. “I know it’s not your fault about the bus.  Also, I don’t want to hear Mr.  Hiesler going off on you for something you can’t control and doesn’t want to understand.”

I was taken back by this. “Really? You don’t mind doing this, even though you don’t know me?”

He shook his head. He has done so much for me these past two days and I don’t know what I could possibly for him in return. Yeah, he said have lunch with him for the hospital but still.

“Thanks for this and understanding. I’ve been telling that bastard that since the semester began. I find it funny that the school nurse admitted to him being a hard ass.”

This got a genuine chuckle out of him. It made me not seem so scary.... not that’s not it.  Intimating , that’s it. It was nice.

Matt cocked his head to the side to signal me to get on the bike. I climbed on after he got settled. Now that I wasn’t in so much pain, I was embarrassed to have my arms around his waist. That all changed once he started the bike and we went forward. He wasn’t going really fast since we were in a neighborhood. It was more like the movement surprised me.

Being on the bike felt so freeing. It was colder than walking or bus but the heat of Matt helped keep me warm. The wind in my hair and the fresh air was much better than the bus any day. That was stale and smelled of smoke and death.

We arrived at the school so early, it was nice. Not being out of breath or being sore was a good plus. Matt asked me when I was free for lunch and when my last class was. I told him I normally have my lunch around eleven-thirty and my last class ended at three-twenty.

My classes went by fast and before I knew it, it was time for lunch. I met Matt down at the small cafeteria the college had. I got him a salad with a water to drink. I got myself a turkey wrap and a water. We took a seat at an empty table. I had no idea how I should start a  canvo with him. I took a bit of my wrap as I thought about what to say.

“What’s up with you having to take a bus to school if you don’t mind me asking?” Matt spoke up first.

“At the moment my family can’t afford to get another car. Plus, taking the bus is free to students.” I gave him the simple, straight answer. I didn’t want to give him all the details about my family’s finical situation. I hope he doesn’t ask me further.

“Oh.” He took a bite of his salad. “What are you studying?”

“Just doing a General Study for the time being. What about you?”

His eyes went colder as he spoke. “Business.”

After that, we didn’t talk. I didn’t want to push him on his demeanor because it wasn’t my place and the look/sound told me he wasn’t too happy about his path and he didn’t want to talk about it. Though I did wonder why he choose this path if he didn’t like it. Could it have been a path he was made to go down by his family or just picked it by mistake?

As for me, I wasn’t too sure about what I wanted to do. I have been interested in Medical stuff but there was just so much work involved and I didn’t want to fail at it because it was overwhelming. That would be a waste of time and money.

“How old is your sister?” Matt finally broke the silence after fifteen minutes.

“She’s eight, going on nine soon.”

“So young. Why did your mom have you two so far apart?”

I shrugged. “Not really sure. I do know my mom had planned on having us a year or two apart. I guess some things got in the way of that happening. Do you have any  siblings ?”

“No. I'm glad I don’t.” Matt held his hands up as if he said something wrong and had to defend himself. “Not saying it’s a bad thing, it’s just...” He trailed off not sure if he wanted to say it. “Never mind.”

Something seemed wrong with him. Is his home life bad? It didn’t seem like he was hurting for money. What, with paying my medical bill and all. I can’t judge just by looking at him. It could be his family didn’t get along or were very strict in their raising. He may tell me at some point down the road if we become friends. I just hope it’s nothing too bad.

We finished our lunch with not much conversation going on. Once in a while, one of us would ask a simple question like, how Matt learned to ride a bike or how I managed to hurt myself yesterday. Nothing too personal, just random questions so we could get to know one another a bit better.

Matt told me he learned to ride the bike through trial and error, using cheap dirt bikes. When he was sixteen, he got his motorcycle license. He never got a normal driver's license and may get one at some point but he knew how to drive a car. He gave a little laugh when he said riding a bike was  easier than driving a car.

I told the  Ravenette I was showing my sister some of my Parkour moves and how my foot hit the catwalk throwing me off balance. I told despite me falling, I was really good at Parkour and different acrobatics. He seemed to be impressed by that.

Before I knew it, it was time for my next class. I bid him a good-bye till I seem him in a few hours. Walking to my next class I was looking forward to riding on the bike again. I also thought of how I could repay him. Maybe invite him to come over and hang out or have him over for dinner. I wish I could do more for him, perhaps this summer once I get a  job, I would be able too.


End file.
